Protecting
by MaplePucks
Summary: Matthew had just wanted to spend one weekend camping alone, with Berwald. But both their brothers Alfred and Mathias have a different plan. Tagging along, they tend to get in the way. By the end of the night, two uninvited quests will become three. *Human AU, mild language, a crude joke or two, and a tiny smidgen of violence* SweCan and DenAme.


**This is a prize for a Deviant on dA. They wanted a SweCan. I don't actually ship SweCan but I do love a good challenge. I had a lot a fun writing this one!  
BTW- I do ship AmericaXDenmark. They work so well! Gah, I love them! ^^  
**

**Enjoy and Please review! **

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This night couldn't possibly get any worse, Matthew thought angrily as he poked at the camp fire with a stick making it hiss. All he had wanted was one weekend, to take a camping trip alone. Just one weekend up in the wilderness of British Columbia, one of his favorite parts of his homeland Canada and to be alone. Was that really too much to ask? He sighed softly, stabbing at the flames again. Ok, maybe not totally alone. Specifically, he wanted to be alone with Berwald the Swedish man he had come to like very much. The man who Matthew couldn't believe had agreed to come along with him on this trip, the Canadian had been very happy. He'd finally have the chance to get to know the man a little better, the perfect opportunity, or so he had assumed. But then again, he thought as he stared icily across the camp at the two uninvited quests, Alfred never could leave well enough alone.

Almost the minute after Matthew had made the plans with Berwald for that weekend, his twin brother was on him. Hounding him with question after question, mostly why, when, how, and why again. How the hoser had even found out was a complete mystery to Matthew but what mattered now was keeping him satisfied with answers. The man was persistent but for the most part Matthew thought he had managed to deflect most of the barrage. However, the day before the trip Alfred announced that not only was he going but his boyfriend Mathias as well. After much protesting, threatening with a Zamboni hit and run, and even some plain old fashion begging Matthew had lost. His weekend for two had become a foursome and he was not happy.

That morning, Matthew found himself driving a car with the loud, crude American, the equally obnoxious Dane and the stoic, very quiet Swede. The long ride had been as expected, annoying and tiresome. Matthew had thought more than once about driving off the road into the ravines that lined the way.

They made it to the campsite in one piece around lunchtime however. Alfred had wasted no time and eagerly put up the tents. Then he took off with Mathias into the woods. Matthew has stayed behind and fixed the hastily put up tents, to avoid them caving in while they slept. Even though Berwald had helped unasked, he didn't say a word to him. Was he mad at Matthew? It wasn't like he had invited either of their brothers to come along, in fact he probably wanted his brother there less than Berwald did. Matthew had been about to ask him but the kings of bad timing choose that moment to waltz back into camp. From then on, Matthew hadn't had one moment alone with Berwald again.

Currently, Matthew found himself along with Berwald, being subjected to a "ghost" story as told by Alfred with help from Mathias. Night had fully fallen and Alfred loved to tell these kinds of stories whether people wanted to hear them or not. This one was about a cursed hamburger restaurant, or something like that. Matthew had heard it before regardless, countless times in fact. His brother really did need to find a new story to tell. He poked at the fire some more, getting lost in the flickering flame, thinking about how he wished his brother would just go away. Suddenly, Alfred let out a loud scream and threw his hands into the air.

"And they served the cursed hamburger meat to all the customers! The End!" He shouted proudly, jumping into Mathias's arms, throwing his own arms around his neck. Matthew breathed a sigh of relief, the noise had scared him. He looked on as Alfred cupped Mathias's chin in his hand, bringing him in for a kiss. A passionate, almost dirty display, Matthew grimaced slightly as he saw the tongues swap between each other. Disgusting. Looking over at Berwald, he saw no emotion but could sense that he thought he was awkward too. Matthew gripped the stick hard and then flung it across the campsite. It knocked lightly against Alfred's glasses, pushing them against Mathias's cheek. They broke apart and stared for a brief moment, before big stupid grins spread across their faces.

"If you two are done, we need more fire wood!" Matthew said angrily. Alfred got up and walked over to him, rubbing his hand on his head. It messed up his hair but more than that embarrassed him in front of Berwald.

"Naw, I think your just jealous little bro." Alfred quipped. Matthew slapped his hand away roughly.

"You know I'm older by at least 10 minutes, and we really do need more fire wood." Matthew said, putting an emphasis on fire. Knowing his brother and Mathias, that could turn into a dirty joke in a heartbeat. Mathias stood up and jabbed his finger at Berwald.

"Make Waldy do it Mattie, you did it last time." He proclaimed as if Matthew wasn't aware he had trudged through the forest alone to get the last round. Before Matthew could retort, however, Berwald gave Mathias an interesting glare. It wasn't evil, or mean spirited, just intimidating. Mathias shivered and ran over to Alfred grabbing his hand, pulling him into the tree line.

"Guess we're getting some wood, though I think we have plenty already!" Alfred called waving behind him as they disappeared. Matthew put in face into his palm, there it was. He knew his brother couldn't hold out much longer.

"Douche canoes, both of them." he muttered absentmindedly. It took him a few moments, but his brain finally kicked in and he was suddenly aware that he was alone with Berwald. Finally! He'd be able to talk to him, to get to know him better. Maybe start something, he was hopeful anyway. He looked over to him and opened his mouth to say something but froze. Berwald was staring right at him, and his cheeks had just a slight hint of red to it.

Matthew couldn't tell, was that anger he saw on his face or embarrassment? This was frustrating, usually Matthew had no problems reading the atmosphere, seeing other people's emotions came easily to him. What made Berwald so different? He had heard that the man was quiet and awkward which was why he didn't have many friends, but so far Matthew only thought of him as shy. Hell, he was probably shier than Matthew if that was possible. Matthew went over and picked up his stick, bringing it back over to poke at the fire some more. Great, finally alone and he couldn't say a word. Let alone ask him the question that had been bothering him all night. Matthew shook his head, this was dumb. He cleared his throat and turned to Berwald.

"It's getting pretty chilly, you want to come closer to the fire? Warm up a bit eh." Matthew said, it was the first thing that came to his mind.

"Yea, sure." Berwald grunted, getting up to come closer. He sat right next to Matthew, his fingertips brushing the side of his leg. Matthew felt his heart give a little jump and he mentally kicked himself. It was completely ridiculous getting that excited. Of course, this was the first time he had allowed himself to get this close to another since Gilbert. It had been two years since the accident, Matthew decided it was time to move on. Though Berwald was quite a switch from Gilbert, Matthew felt like there was something there. Something deeper, something he connected to and it felt nice. He couldn't place what it was, but he knew over time he could figure it out. Matthew looked up at the sky, clouds had begun forming and they were blocking the normally spectacular view.

"That's a shame eh? Wish you could see the stars, they are amazing up here." Matthew sighed quietly, giving a little shiver from the cold. Unexpectedly, Berwald threw his arm around Matthew bringing him in close. His head fell against his chest and Matthew could hear the steady rhythm of his heart, beating in his ears. This was strange, Berwald didn't seem like the touchy feely type. It certainly surprised Matthew but he went with it, not wanting to hurt Berwald's feelings by pulling away. This was actually a good thing, maybe it meant he liked him too, just his way of showing it.

"Are you warmer Matthew?" He asked in a steady even tone. No emotion again, Matthew thought, Berwald was proving to be a bit of a challenge. He nodded all the same and Berwald went back to staring blankly at the fire. OK, time to just do it. Matthew had to know, it would make things easier and maybe they could actually get something accomplished tonight.

"Berwald, I gotta know are you-" Matthew started to say but was cut off by a high pitched scream that came from just outside the tree line of their camp. It was close, and Matthew could of sworn it sounded like his brother. Mathias must have scared Alfred, pretty badly to get that kind of noise out of him. Matthew ignored it and turned back to start talking again but then he heard frantic rustling in the bushes. Moments later, Alfred and Mathias burst back into camp. The look on their faces was certainly interesting.

They were both very pale and wide-eyed, turning from each other in an insane way. Pointing wildly behind them to the forest, making incoherent noises both trying to talk at the same time. Something had definitely spooked them out there and Matthew was curious as to what could render his self-proclaimed "fearless" brother into trembling with fear. He scoffed, maybe they had inadvertently scared each other. That would serve them right for inviting themselves along.

"B-bi…oot-t," Alfred said shakily jabbing his fingers back behind him. Matthew shook his head.

"Alfred, you and Mathias are going to have to use your big boy words if you-" He was cut off again, this time by a low, very strange growl from behind the two idiots. Matthew jumped up, now starting to panic slightly himself. It had been years since he had heard that noise, and he knew it wasn't good at all. Alfred had frozen with his wide eyes fixed on Matthew.

"M-Mattie?" he squeaked, terrified. The twin raised his hand to silence him, Matthew had started scanning the tree line intently, back and forth. Berwald had stood up too but he couldn't possibly know what Matthew was looking for. What could they have been thinking? Leading a thing like that back to camp, they were all in serious danger now. After a few very tense moments, Matthew spotted them, red glowing eyes right in-between Alfred and Mathias heads. The shadowed figure raised up on two legs and then brought his arm up, like his was going to throw something. Matthew sprang into action.

"Get out of the way!" he shouted, sprinting over to them. He pushed Alfred into Mathias, getting them clear of the attack but that meant he was the one that ended up being hit.

Searing pain, the kind that made everything else unimportant flooded his side. He felt himself fall the ground knocking his head against one of the rocks circling the fire. The impact had taken his breath away and he laid there trying to assess the damage. A few broken ribs, a fairly bruised hip but what concerned him the most was the warm liquid substance he felt flowing from both his side and his head. He groaned in pain, clutching his left side. That really could not be a good thing. Suddenly, he remembered the others, they must need his help! Matthew was about to get up when he heard an awkward yelp. Wearily, he opened his eyes to see what had happened and gasped at what he found.

Standing in front of him with his back to him was Berwald, holding what looked like a club. Hunched at his feet was the monster that, Matthew now saw, had thrown a small boulder at them. That explained why he was in so much pain, he thought vaguely. As he stared he realized what it was, a sasquatch. He nodded to himself, he had known as soon as he had heard that growl. He had spent years tracking the monster through this wilderness, it was his one weird trait. Bigfoot hunting. So the fact that he saw one here didn't surprise him, but that state he was in did.

The beast's brown hair around his head was already matted with what looked like blood and it shook with obvious anger. Berwald had apparently struck it, repeatedly it seemed. Matthew took a moment to look around and saw Alfred standing in front of Mathias, who was on the ground like Matthew. He flinched slightly, it looked like the Dane also had a similar wound on his head. Matthew laughed softly, he knew that was probably his fault but he wasn't all that sorry for it. He pushed himself up to a sitting position, and the movement caught Berwald's eye. He looked behind him, down at Matthew and actually smiled.

"Yea, you're ok. I am glad." He said in the same even tone he always had, the smile betraying his emotionless exterior. Matthew smiled back but then frowned and pointed a finger behind him.

"Berwald!" He screamed. The man whipped around to find the Sasquatch bearing down on them, teeth displayed in a menacing fashion. Without so much as blinking, Berwald took a mighty swing at it, hitting it square in the jaw. He spun to the ground, landind on its back hard. Getting up he looked at them and then ran back into the woods, making small trees fall in his wake.

Alfred let out a loud yell of victory, bending down to a smiling Mathias. Matthew watched as he scooped him up in his arms and gave him a big kiss, like before only with more passion. The Canadian smiled and shook his head, typical Alfred. All of a sudden, he felt big arms wrap around him bringing him up off the ground as well. He was confused for a moment until he realized Berwald had picked him up.

The man looked down at him with a curious look, Matthew thought maybe it was a small trace of fear. He saw Berwald's eyes move from his head wound down to his waist, only widening a bit. Matthew laughed again and waved his free hand in front of his face.

"Don't worry, it's really just a small thing. Thanks for saving me!" He said still smiling. Berwald didn't say a word but brought Matthew closer and placed just a small, light kiss on his lips. Not a long one, or passionate one but was enough. Matthew's brain stopped functioning for a moment, it had been so unexpected and so brief but it had answered the question he had. Berwald wasn't mad at all, in fact the opposite. He was happy to be with Matthew and happy that Matthew was safe. It may have been a bit soon but Matthew reached up and ran his fingers through Berwald's hair, pulling him back down for a longer kiss. They pulled apart and Berwald's cheeks were very red but he smiled again, the biggest one yet.

"You are welcome. Come, we must take you and my brother to the doctor yea?" He said quietly. Matthew nestled deeper into his arms and nodded. He heard Mathias and Alfred let out a low whistle and he silently vowed that when he recovered, a Zamboni hit and run was indeed in order.


End file.
